Chapter 2

To celebrate "her" new luxury apartment, Chloe booked a table at a high-end restaurant that night.

She even ordered an expensive vintage wine.

After a few glasses, her face was flushed with excitement.

"Ethan, this house is my leverage now. My mom is going to be so thrilled."

I forced a smile, but my heart felt like it was crushed under a boulder.

Two hundred thousand dollars. All for her smile and my uncertain future.

By the end of the dinner, Chloe was completely wasted.

She slumped over the table, mumbling, "I have a house now... I have a home..."

I sighed and got up to pay the bill.

When I came back, I noticed her phone on the table. It was buzzing non-stop.

I didn't mean to snoop, but the notifications were coming in too fast.

And the name of the group chat popping up on the screen made my eyelid twitch:

[High-Society Wannabes & Simp Harvesters (Group 3)]

I instinctively picked up her phone and used her thumb to unlock it.

The pinned chat was scrolling frantically with messages.

"@BrightSky (Chloe's handle) Babe! How did it go? Did that idiot swipe his card?"

"Make sure you don't get the marriage certificate first. Otherwise, it becomes marital property. You must buy it now, and only in your name!"

Ten minutes ago, right before she passed out, Chloe had sent a voice note.

I tapped it. Her smug, drunken voice came through the speaker.

"Got it! A $200,000 down payment, all paid by him. Only my name is on the deed!"

"Add his name? No way! A little drama, and I had him wrapped around my finger."

The group chat exploded. The screen was flooded with "Queen behavior!" and "Teach us your ways!"

A user named @Simp_Slayer messaged:

"Incredible job, babe! This guy is just a stepping stone anyway."

"Now that the house is yours, it's pre-marital property. Even if you divorce him later, he won't get a dime."

"He paid the down payment voluntarily. In court, the judge will just rule it as a gift. He’ll be crying in the corner!"

My hand started to shake. A cold shiver ran up my spine.

The "security" drama this afternoon was a carefully planned trap.

This was the woman I had cherished and loved for three years?

I kept scrolling up.

I saw a screenshot Chloe had shared from a Twitter thread.

The title read: *Girls, how do I get my boyfriend to pay for a house but only put my name on it? Urgent!*

The comments below were packed with toxic advice.

"Threaten to break up. Works every time."

"Accuse him of not trusting you. Gaslight him."

"If all else fails, cry, scream, throw a tantrum."

Chloe had replied: *Noted. Trying this tonight. The guy has some savings, can’t let him slip away.*

Looking at those words, my stomach churned.

Still in denial, I tapped into her chat with her mother, Eleanor.

The timestamp was from this afternoon, right when we were signing the papers.

Eleanor: "Chloe, is the deed signed? Are you sure that poor boy's name isn't on it?"

Chloe: "Don't worry, Mom. It's done. This house belongs to our family now. Ethan has nothing to do with it."

Eleanor: "Good! By the way, Aunt Susan set you up with a PhD who just came back from abroad. Free tomorrow night for a date?"

"I heard his family owns factories. Way better than Ethan, who's just a corporate slave."

"Now that you have a house, your value is different. Keep Ethan as a backup, but keep your options open. Don't tie yourself to one tree."

Chloe had replied with an "OK" emoji.

"I know, Mom. Now that the house is mine, I can easily ghost Ethan later with some random excuse."

"He already paid the money anyway. No loss for me."

"Send me a picture of the PhD. Is he hot?"

*Slam!*

I slammed the phone onto the table in fury.

The noise startled the nearby diners and woke Chloe up.

She rubbed her eyes, looking dazed.

"Babe... what's wrong? Are we going home?"

She reached out to grab my arm, acting cute as usual.

I stepped back to avoid her touch, my eyes freezing cold.

Looking at this beautiful woman with a snake's heart.

I suddenly laughed.

I laughed at how stupid I had been.

I laughed at how I had used my parents' hard-earned money to feed an ungrateful leech.

She thought she could ruin me just because she had Twitter gurus and toxic strategies.

Too bad, Chloe.

You don't know my background.

You have Twitter.

But I have the law.